Great Vacation on the Sun 3/22 - 3/29

[mizbear]

This is a bit long but I hope I provided detail for those who will be sailing on the Sun in the coming weeks...enjoy! If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

Background: My family (myself and DH, early 40s and DD, 11) sailed on the Sun from 3/22 – 3/29. This was our 4th cruise, and the 2nd on NCL. We sailed on the Pearl last summer (Alaska) and were very underwhelmed by the service on the Pearl. There were several problems and at the time, I did not think I would ever sail NCL again. Well, never say never…I wrote to NCL about the problems we experienced, and they agreed that those problems should not have occurred and the service we received was not up to their standards. They offered us onboard credits and we were able to take this cruise in an AE mini-suite at a discounted rate, because NCL wanted us to give them another try. After much family discussion we decided to give NCL another try and booked the Sun based on an itinerary that looked like a lot of fun.

I am SO glad we gave NCL another try, because our week on the Sun was just wonderful in every way!

Pre-cruise: we flew into Miami the day before and booked a room at the Holiday Inn Bayside due to location. It was nice to have Bayside Market right across the street and we had dinner over there on Friday night.

Embarkation: We arrived at the pier around 11 am and things could not have been smoother or easier. At 11:45 we were allowed to board so we walked around the ship for a while to get the lay of the land. We made a dinner reservation at Il Adagio and went to the Seven Seas dining room for lunch, which opened at 12:30. While waiting I heard someone’s speaking nearby and I realized it had to be Laura, who was organizing our roll call meet and greet! I introduced myself and the three of us had lunch with Laura and her daughter Lindsay. It was a terrific way to start out the cruise and meeting some of the great people from our roll call was definitely a highlight of the trip!

Ship: after being on the Pearl last summer, we really liked the Sun so much better. Even though we had a forward stateroom, we never felt like it took a lot of time to walk end to end (and it seemed so much longer to do so on the Pearl, and we were midship). We found it quite easy to get the lay of the land.

Stateroom: We were in stateroom 1201, an AE mini-suite on the pool deck. It was a forward balcony with room for 2 loungers and 2 chairs and a small table. We had a bed as well as a futon which was a couch by day and our daughter’s bed at night. The closet was large and the bathroom had a tub with a nice large shower. There was more than enough storage and we really enjoyed the space. We had wonderful, hard working room stewards (Dexon and Hannah) who left our daughter some great towel animals. We never saw either of them without a smile and our room was always spotless.

Ports of Call: We chose this ship based on itinerary, and it did not disappoint. Our first port, Roatan, was beautiful and our favorite. We booked the dolphin encounter through NCL (this was highly recommended by our Travel Agent) and we loved it. We had never done this before and we had a great time. The photographer there took some great shots and we ended up purchasing a CD of our photos along with several photos of the dolphins going through their paces, doing jumps, etc. After the dolphin encounter we went to Tabyana beach for the afternoon. We had lunch there, did some swimming and our daughter got a few braids in her hair from a beach vendor. It was very crowded, however.

In Belize, we booked Cave Tubing, again through NCL’s shore excursion desk. In retrospect, I wish I had booked a private operator for this. We had a group of about 35 and were pretty much left on our own. The private operators had smaller groups which stayed together by linking legs and their guides gave them a lot more information (I confess to listening in a little whenever I was near one of them). However, I am so glad we did this – it was a very unique and interesting experience. We had a little time after that was over to walk around the pier area where the tender boats were and DH and I enjoyed a Belizean beer.

For Cozumel, we again went through NCL and booked a tour to Tulum. Our daughter is studying world civilizations in school now and next year, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to for her to learn about the Mayan Civilization. So instead of tendering to Cozumel, those of us who were headed towards the mainland got on our own tender to Playa del Carmen (it’s about a 35-40 minute ride) where we got on a tour bus to Tulum. Our guide, Raul, was fantastic. He has so much pride in his Mayan heritage and we learned so much from him. Tulum is just spectacular and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to do this tour. The only negative – the ride back to the Sun on the tender boat was rather rocky, and we were all a bit seasick when we returned to the Sun.

Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island, was a highlight for us. We took a tender boat over around 9:30 – 10 am and relaxed on the beach. We rented one of the large floating mats and just relaxed. I was fortunate enough to meet up with some new friends from our Roll Call over lunch. It was such a relaxing day and a great way to end a perfect week.

What to do onboard: We caught a lot of the shows and enjoyed “Hey Mr. Producer” and the comedian, as well as the crew talent show (even though we had seen “Fountains” before we still loved it). We did trivia (and won once) and saw some very funny shows, including “The Weakest Link”, “Who Wants to be a (Fake) Millionaire” and “Majority Rules.” The assistant cruise director, Dmitri, was a great host and very funny – he has now moved to the Dawn. We used the gym (nice equipment), played Bingo, went to the casino (won about $40), went to a few shopping talks (my daughter won some flip flops) and enjoyed just about everything we did. There really is something for everyone. We did have some nice family pictures taken and although they were a bit pricey, they came out so nice and are a great memory for us. We also went to a cooking demonstration and thought that was a lot of fun.

Food: We thought the food was quite good on the Sun. We never used the buffet – we either did a room service breakfast of fruit/cereal/yogurt on days when we had early excursions, or else ate in Seven Seas, which we really enjoyed. We did the same with lunches – either at Seven Seas or we were busy on an excursion. We had 2 dinners at Il Adagio – the first and last night – and we loved both meals (our daughter loved the chicken). We also ate at Pacific Heights once (my husband raved about the meatloaf) and at Teppanyaki, which our daughter always enjoys. We ate one night in Four Seasons and the others in Seven Seas.

Service: The Sun has been NCL’s highest rated ship for service for 2007 and the first 2 months of 2008 and it is easy to see why. From top to bottom the crew was just outstanding. Everyone was helpful and kind and always greeted us with a smile and a hello. We never had a water glass or coffee cup that wasn’t immediately filled when it started to get a little low. At one lunch in Seven Seas our daughter accidentally knocked her knife to the floor; before she could even bend down to pick it up an alert waiter picked it up and replaced it immediately. Everyone was excellent, excellent, excellent!!

Disembarkation: We did the BAGS program and since we had a 5 pm flight, we went to Jungle Island for a few hours. Saw the liger there, checked out all the different primates and went off to the airport. After an uneventful flight, our luggage was among the first arriving in baggage claim. I love the BAGS program – it really eliminates the hassle of dealing with your luggage.

Overall: Well, NCL, you won me over. I admit, after my first NCL cruise I was not your biggest fan … but the crew on the Sun made this a memorable and wonderful cruise; probably one of the best family vacations we’ve ever had. We really enjoy being able to go to different restaurants and dress more casually when we wish, so freestyle is for us. As we make our plans for 2009, NCL is at the top of our list, and if the opportunity presents itself, I would absolutely sail on the Sun again!

Linda

[WinnieinWA]

Thanks so much for your review. :) I am really looking forward to being on the Sun this summer.

[ChBoxers800]

I'm so glad that you had a wonderful trip. We absolutely loved our Sun cruise (we were on the week before you)

 

I enjoyed the trip so much, that I took advantage of the cruise rewards program while on board. And, I have booked the Dawn to Canada/NE already. Although I'm really looking forward to it, I highly doubt she will rival the Sun. And I honestly hope that she equals it.

 

Welcome home!:D

[KCritter]

Thank you for your review! We sail Saturday and I can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!:D :D :D :D

[bikergal78]

Sounds like you had a good time! The Sun is a great ship and the crew were so nice. I was on the week before you. Check out my review as well. :D

[Carnac767]

Thanks for taking the time to share that with us, Linda. We really enjoyed our cruise aboard the Sun.